Latisha Curtis, Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D., Rachel L. Grover, Ph.D., Jason Prenoveau, Ph.D., Beth A. Kotchick, Ph.D.
Examining the Relation Between Anxious Parental Behaviors and Child Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent psychiatric disorders among children and
adults (Ballash, Leyfer, Buckley, & Woodruff-Borden, 2006; Lewinsohn, Gotlib, Lewinsohn,
Seeley, & Allen, 1998; Schniering, Hudson, & Rapee, 2000). Recent prevalence rates
for children with Anxiety Disorders ranged from 2.3% to 9.2%, with Separation Anxiety
Disorder, Social Phobia, Specific Phobia, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder as the
most typical diagnoses (Becker, Becker, & Ginsburg, 2012; Costello, Egger, & Angold,
2004; Greenberg, Domitrovich, Bumbarger, 2001; Merikangas et al., 2010). Etiological
theories identify several factors that increase the risk of developing an anxiety
disorder including hereditary risk, negative life events, and family environment.
Family aggregation studies show that children of parents with an anxiety disorder
are 5-7 times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder than children of parents
without an anxiety disorder (Ballash, Leyfer, Buckley, & Woodruff-Borden, 2006; Ginsburg,
Grover, Ialongo, 2004). In looking at the potential influence of family, researchers
have investigated several specific parenting behaviors theorized to be related to
the transmission of anxiety from parent to child including: negativity, low affection,
high criticism, modeling of anxious thinking (e.g., catastrophizing), low granting
of autonomy (Hirshfeld, Biederman, Brody, Farane, & Rosenbaum, 1997; Turner, Beidel,
Roberson-Nay, & Tervo, 2003; Whaley, Pinto, & Sigman, 1999; Whaley et al., 1999).
Despite the abundance of research on childhood anxiety, there is still debate regarding
the specific parenting behaviors that serve as primary risk factors of childhood anxiety.
The current study will look to further examine the relation between specific parent
behaviors and child anxiety symptoms in children at high risk of developing an anxiety
disorder. , The current study will analyze existing data from the Child Anxiety Prevention
Study – Coping and Promoting Strengths (CAPS; Ginsburg, 2009). Participants included
mothers (N = 136) who met criteria for an anxiety disorder at some point in their
lifetime (as assessed by the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule – IV; Silverman
& Albano, 1996) and children between the ages of 7-12, who did not meet criteria for
an anxiety disorder. Participants were observed in a five-minute etch-a-sketch task
that required the parent and child to collaboratively produce a series of difficult
designs. Parent and child behaviors were coded each minute. The present study will
use a within-subjects design to investigate the relation between parent behaviors
(i.e., anxious behavior, over control, hostility, criticism, and granting autonomy)
and child anxious behavior (e.g., overinvolved, fearful statements, self-doubt, catastrophizing,
and perfectionistic behaviors). As parent and child behavior ratings occurred during
each minute of the task, it is possible to examine child responses to parent behaviors
minute by minute. Therefore, it is hypothesized that child anxious behavior ratings
will be higher following minutes of high parent ratings of anxious behavior, over
control, hostility, criticism, or granting autonomy. A series of related t-tests (one
for each parent behavior) will be used to examine the differences in child anxious
behavior ratings between minutes of high parent behavior and low parent behavior.
. The current poster will present the study rationale, hypotheses, methodology, and
data analysis plan. Eventually, findings may help explain the influence of parents
on child anxiety and may highlight the need for more research on real-time parent-child
interactions.